swscholasticbowlfandomcom-20200216-history
George Berkeley
George Berkeley (12 March 1685 – 14 January 1753), also known as Bishop Berkeley (Bishop of Cloyne), was an Anglo-Irish philosopher whose primary achievement was the advancement of a theory he called "immaterialism" (later referred to as "subjective idealism" by others). This theory denies the existence of material substance and instead contends that familiar objects like tables and chairs are only ideas in the minds of perceivers, and as a result cannot exist without being perceived. Berkeley is also known for his critique of abstraction, an important premise in his argument for immaterialism. In 1709, Berkeley published his first major work, An Essay towards a New Theory of Vision, in which he discussed the limitations of human vision and advanced the theory that the proper objects of sight are not material objects, but light and color. This foreshadowed his chief philosophical work A Treatise Concerning the Principles of Human Knowledge in 1710 which, after its poor reception, he rewrote in dialogue form and published under the title Three Dialogues between Hylas and Philonous in 1713. Tossup Questions # This writer wrote a treatise that mockingly asks whether some "evanescent increments" should be referred to as "ghosts of departed quantities." He wrote a "chain of reflections and inquiries" in his book Siris to advocate the use of a folk- remedy by his disease-ridden countrymen. This man criticized the idea of infinitesimal calculus in his "discourse addressed to an infidel mathematician," titled The Analyst. His book on the "principles of human knowledge" rejects Locke's idea of primary qualities, and includes the maxim "to be is to be perceived." For 10 points, name this Irish philosopher who wrote Essay Towards a New Theory of Vision and Three Dialogues Between Hylas and Philonous. # After this thinker's attempts to establish a school for the natives of Bermuda failed, he donated the funds to Yale and Harvard. Samuel Johnson's reaction to this philosopher was to kick a stone and shout "I refute it thus!" This thinker used a tree secluded by a park and a book hidden in a closet as two examples for his "master argument," and wrote that "magnitude" and "distance" are mapped by the mind onto human (*) vision. This man's Treatise Concerning the Principles of Human Knowledge stated his view that God maintains ideas and spirits as the only existent things. He also denied the existence of matter in Three Dialogues Between Hylas and Philonous. For 10 points, name this Irish bishop and philosopher who said "To be is to be perceived." # This philosopher posited that the ultimate cause of the motion of all bodies is the mind of God, opposing Newton, who he called later the "infidel mathematician." He used the example of how a piece of wheat is small to a man but larger to a mite in pointing out the inadequacy of the extension argument. To illustrate a point, he questioned the sense in not believing that the moon is "a plain lucid surface, about a foot in diameter." Using a (*) cherry and a tree, this man constructed what Andre Gallois christened his "master argument," which disputes the distinction between primary and secondary qualities and claims the impossibility of existence independent of the mind. That is explained in his A Treatise Concerning the Principles of Human Knowledge. For 10 points, name this philosopher who wrote Three Dialogues between Hylas and Philonous. # One work by this man ends with the image of water shooting up and falling back into a fountain as an analogy for the path from skepticism to common sense. In one work, this thinker argues that ideas cannot represent material objects, because they can only resemble other ideas. That is his "likeness principle." This thinker's belief that we cannot conceive of mind-independent objects, because the very act of conception requires a mind, is referred to as his "master argument." This author of Treatise Concerning the Principles of Human Knowledge declared that "to be is to be perceived." For 10 points, name this Irish author of Three Dialogues Between Hylas and Philonous. # This thinker advocated drinking pine-tar in one work while in another the narrator is named "Dion." That work's dialog occurs between Lysicles, Euphranor, Crito and the title "Ten Minute Philosopher" as they combat the arguments of free-thinkers like Shaftesberry. This author of Siris and Alciphron posed 392 questions including "Who's fault is it if Ireland continues poor?", in his Querist. This man also criticized the notions of fluxions and infinitesimals, and his "master argument" claims "to be is to be perceived." For 10 points, name this Anglican Bishop and Irish philosopher of The Analyst, who criticized Locke in Three Dialogues Between Hylas and Philonus.